I began writing for Forbes in 2010. It was just as the economy was starting to perk up and a fascinating time to cover the stock market, which I did for three months until I switched beats in September 2010. Now I contribute to the Leadership channel, with a focus on jobs and careers–-another hot topic in a time when people are vigorously hunting for jobs or desperately trying to hold on to the ones they have. I have a BA from the University of Arizona and a master's degree in journalism from Hofstra University. Follow me on Twitter @JacquelynVSmith, subscribe to me on Google+, or email me at jsmith [at] forbes [dot] com.

Apple's Worst Ads -- Before The Unfortunate 'Genius'

Apple ads are almost always compelling and buzz-worthy. Its iconic “1984” and “Silhouettes” spots, for instance, are named among the best commercials of all time. But they haven’t always been great. Apple has had some serious flops over the years—and its most recent campaign has been subject to some of the harshest criticism yet.

Apple rolled out its latest campaign during the Olympic Games last week with three spots, “Basically,” “Labor Day,” and “Mayday”—all featuring an Apple Genius. People are decrying it as one of Apple’s most disappointing campaigns of all time, dubbing it “cheesy,” “cringe-worthy,” “intellectually cheap” and “poorly executed.” (You can see all three ads here.)Former Apple creative Ken Segall even took to his blog to critique the new spots, writing, “these ads are causing a widespread gagging response, and deservedly so. I honestly can’t remember a single Apple campaign that’s been received so poorly.”

Charles R. Taylor, a marketing professor at Villanova School of Business, said his knee-jerk reaction to the commercials was that they are “problematic.”

Apple’s “Genius” campaign appears to be “a well-intentioned attempt to appeal to a broader group of consumers who are older and less technically savvy,” Taylor says. But those aren’t Apple’s core users, and “it’s pretty clear that the campaign is a flop,” he says.

“It makes sense that many of Apple’s best customers would find these ads to be irritating as the apps and functions being explained are something they have known how to do for years and regard as simple. When trying to expand the user base it’s really important to not alienate core customers, and I’m afraid this ad does that. It’s particularly unfortunate that it is being launched during the Olympics, which is one of those rare events with huge viewership that cuts across virtually all demographics,” Taylor says.

Apple is wise to advertise during the Olympics to counter the attention Samsung gets from its position as an official global sponsor, Taylor says. But Samsung’s ads position it as an innovator while Apple’s spots are focusing on customer support for using basic functions. This runs the risk of eroding some of the excitement key users associate with the brand, he explains.

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The Apple campaign that straddles the fence for me is “Get A Mac”, with John Hodgman as the PC and Justin Long as the Mac. The ads were successful in getting across the complementary ideas that PCs are dull and stuffy while Macs are hip and fun. But the problem was that viewers were conflicted between that message and the fact that John Hodgman is so funny and likable that it made Justin Long appear aloof. Definitely appealing to their core user base though.

Things changed. Apple used to have the geeky, better-than-you users who wanted the best and coolest gear. Since the meteoric success of the iPhone Apple has captured the world’s, errr, dumb users: The undemanding fashion-following majority that previously patronized Microsoft. There’s no common marketing for these two groups. Following the money means mass-market beer-level ads. The only real question is should Apple lump the Mac line with the consumer iOS line, or keep it separate and at a higher tier?